Daniel Wolfram
A commercial airplane almost crashed into a helicopter carrying Donald Trump.
What should have been a routine takeoff at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport almost became a disaster of epic proportions.
When the President of the United States is leaving Washington D.C. on his helicopter, air traffic is usually halted.
But not this time.
Airspace breakdown
A commercial airliner full of passengers almost collided with the presidential helicopter carrying President Donald Trump. Federal officials confirmed the close call on Wednesday, launching formal reviews into the incident.
The encounter happened Tuesday afternoon. Marine One departed from the White House Ellipse with President Donald Trump on board.
At that exact moment, an American Airlines regional jet took off from nearby Reagan National Airport. Flightradar24 tracking data showed the jet passed within 1.5 miles of the helicopter.
Normally, airport flights pause when Marine One lifts off. Yet audio reviewed by CNN showed that airport traffic kept moving for a couple of minutes after the helicopter departed.
Broken radio signals
Audio recordings reveal a breakdown in communication right before liftoff. The military pilot tried contacting air traffic control at least three times.
“Tower, do you copy. Marine One, three minutes to lift,” a pilot said at 2:31 p.m. The controller answered that the transmission was “broken and unreadable.”
Minutes later, the pilots said they were departing on their planned route. “Uh …” the controller replied, according to the audio. “Marine One, you said you are proceeding as briefed?”
Luckily, the pilots saw the plane and held position before flying on safely, avoiding near disaster.
Officials demand answers
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged the mishap. “Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another,” the FAA said in a statement.
Meanwhile, officials moved quickly to assure the public that top leadership remained safe.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Wall Street Journal that “at no point was the President in harm’s way.” A Marine Corps spokesperson told CNN that “Marine One’s flight on Aug. 4 was routine.”
Scrutiny remains high over the crowded airspace around Reagan National. The near miss follows a collision last year between a military helicopter and an airliner that killed 67 people.
